Sanitary telephone device



May 31, 1960 R. v. GUARDINO 2,938,967

SANITARY TELEPHONE DEVICE Filed July 21. 1958 INV ENT OR.

RIC/IA RD V GUARD/N0 AETORNEY United States Patent 2,?38,967 SANITARY TELEPHONE DEVICE I Richard V. Guardino, 287 Colony St., Hempstead, NY. Filed July 21, 1958, Set. N0. 749,676 4 Claims. Cl. 179-185) This invention relates to a protective cap for telephone mouthpreces and more particularly to a cap having a replaceable germicidal filter.

It is an object of this invention to provide a germicidal cap for a telephone mouthpiece having inexpensive throwaway replaceable elements.

It is a further object to provide a telephone cap of in expenslve construction and simplicity of manufacture.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following descriptive disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the substantially U-shaped cap having opposed clip on hooks,

Fig. 2 is an end view taken along line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a top view of a modified cap having a U-shaped channel for retaining the germicidal filter,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a rectangular replaceable germicidal filter,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified replaceable filter having the configuration of a truncated c'one,

Fig. 6 is an end view of a modified cap showing a circular lip for securing the cap to the telephone, and

Fig. 7 is an end view of another modification having a circular ridge in the inner cap skirt wall for securing the cap to the telephone.

Preferably the cap of this invention is made of plastic but other material is operable. The filter element may be disposed upon the telephone mouth piece and against the inner top surface of the cap or the cap may be provided with a U-shaped cavity (Fig. 3) for receiving a rectangular germicidal filter (Fig. 4). To prevent falling out of the filter the U-shaped cavity may be modified into the shape of a truncated cone in which case a truncated filter (Fig. 5) is lockingly disposed in the modified cavity.

The filter is preferably made of paper or cloth and treated with a germicidal substance for example conventional germicidal quaternary ammonium salts, hexachlorophene, etc.

Turning to the drawing, the cap 10 is generally of a U-shaped construction having a top U-shaped wall 11 having a U-shaped cutout 13 therein. The cap 10 is pro vided with a skirt 14- substantially at a right angle to top wall 11. The opposed ends of wall 14 are each provided with an integral curved flap 15. The curve of the flaps 15 are so curved as to snugly engage the bowl of the telephone 16 thereby securing the cap 10 firmly to the telephone bowl 16 and its cover 17.

In a simple form of this invention the cap 10 is molded from plastic with a suitable curved bend 18 so that top wall 11 is in space relationship above the top face Wall 19 of the telephone cover 17.

A filter 24] of suitable firm paper or starched cloth treated with long lasting conventional oxidation and sunlight resistant germicide is slipped into the top of the U-shaped cavity 13 and between the inner surface of 2,938,967 Patented May 31, 1960 2 cap wall 11 and the top wall or surface 19 of the telephone cover 17.

The filter 20 ispreferably of suitable paper having natural interstices or openings of a size to permit voice or sound waves to travel therethrough. However, the filter may optionally be provided with suitably small perforations (shown in dotted outline in Figs. 3, 4 and 5) if desired to aid voice transmission.

The filter 20 may be of non-woven germicidally treated fibers altered by strengthening the filter edges by means of plastic material deposited on at least three of the filter edges by dipping, spraying or roller coating said filter edges with a suitable plastic solution. Such plastic treated edges upon drying become rigid giving a soft pliable center portion having rigid edges.

Turning to Fig. 3, there is presented a modified cap 3i) having a U-shaped channel molded in the inner surface of the U-shaped top wall 11. The opposed channel walls are linear. Where the opposed channel walls are parallel to one another (Fig. 3) a rectangular filter 31 is used. The filter 31 is made of paper 32 preferably provided with strengthened insertion edges, strengthened by plastic material 33 deposited thereon or by other conventional means.

The filter 31 may be provided with suitably small voice transmitting apertures if desired, but where suitably thin and non-sized paper or cloth is'used apertures are not needed. The filter 31 is inserted into the U-shaped channel 34- (Fig. 3). Where another party uses the telephone the old filter 31 is first removed and thrown away and replaced with a new filter 31.

In order to firmly lock the filter 31 into channel 34 the filter 31 is given slightly larger transverse dimension than channel 34 and is slightly bent medially while being inserted into the U-shaped channel 34.

Optionally the channel 34 may be a slightly truncated cone to receive a mating truncated filter 35 having sloping side walls 36 and base 37. To insert filter 35 into its co-acting channel (not shown) the filter is pinched or bent medially and inserted base 37 first into its co-acting truncated channel.

Other means of locking the substantially U-shaped cap to the telephone are shown in Figs. 6 and. 7, both modifications of which may be provided with filter receiving means or channels shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 6, the plastic cap 40 is provided with a vertically depending skirt 41 around the U-shaped top wall 11, said wall 11 having a suitably curved bend 18 to keep the inner surface of wall 11 in suitable space-relationship to the telephone cover 17 to receive a filter 20. The terminal edge of the cap 40 is U-shaped and curved inwardly to provide a lip 42 which engages lockingly into the conventional channel formed between the screwed-on telephone cover 17 and body of the telephone 16.

Optionally the skirt 41 of cap 40 may be made longer and the lip 42 wider to embrace the bowl wall 16X of the telephone body 16 below its maximum diameter. Another modification of this invention is shown in Fig. 7 wherein the plastic cap 50 is provided with an integral vertically disposed U-shaped wall 51 having a continuous suitable ridge 5'2 in the inner surface of wall 51. The ridge 52 functions in the same manner as lip 42 of cap 40 by being snapped into place into the normal channel formed between the telephone screwed on. cap 17 and the body portion 16 of the telephone.

This invention has been described by means of several illustrations showing a telephone snap-on U-shaped cap, preferably of plastic, having means for removeably re ceiving a flat germicidal filter element between the telephone and the-cap through the open end of said U- plurality of suitable conical elevation or pimples disposed in a circular configuration in the depending vertical wall and adapted to be seated into the channel between the telephone cover and the body portion of the telephone.

I claim: 7

1. A disposable integral substantially U-shapcd cap adapted to clasp a telephone mouthpiece cover in spacerelationship to the top walls thereof and adapted further to slidingly receive an inexpensive disposable sheet filter element between the cap and the cover consisting essentially of a top truncated annular substantially U- shaped flat wall having a truncated circular aperture centrally therein; a depending wall integral with the outer edge of said top Wall and at a right angle thereto and inwardly disposed locking means continuous with the edge of said depending wall for seizing the telephone cover in the groove disposed between mouthpiece cover and the body portion of the telephone.

2. The cap of claim 1 comprising a pair of curved flaps, each integral with an oblique to a respective end of said depending wall, said flaps being curved to embrace the body portion of the telephone in space relationship to the opening of the U-shaped top wall.

3. The cap of claim 2 comprising a top wall having a filter receiving U-shaped channel in the under surface thereof, said channel having opposed linearside walls connected by a base wall, said base wall being opposite References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,340,661 Lobl May 18, 1920 1,537,886 Sackl May 12, 1925 1,833,643 Gluck Nov. 24, 1931 2,520,416 Lewis Aug. 29, 1950 2,700,075 Kom Ian. 18, 1955 

